Learning by missteps and errors...

[gourmet]

I have bag seed for about 3 growing tests, so I don't feel so bad screwing up this badly. I am learning a lot about how the plants look and should look.


Germinated 9 bagseed about 3 weeks ago. First mistake I made was to germinate and start to grow them inside as if they were normal houseplants and without research. 2nd mistake is I used soil from a bag in the garage and after the plants stopped growing and started getting light in color (although not burned) read the bag to find it is not to be used as potting soil.

Down to t plants.

7/7 - Repotted using Jiffy Seed Starting Mix (I have yet to find a local store to buy any of the products mentioned on this site and have already charged up a bunch on AX). Jiffy mix has sphagnum moss, vermiculite and lime. I added 1 tablespoon of bat guano to 2 gallons of mix, THEN I added perlite and sand to the mix to counter the water retention properties of the moss and vermiculite together and added sand on the top. Watered it with tap water (8.2ph) and wound up with what appears to be 6.8 to 6.9 ph. Hard to tell because I am measuring the drainage coming out of the soil rather than the soil itself using a liquid PH aquarium measuring kit.

I also planted them in styrofoam cups. Down to 5 plants, I broke one transplanting it.

I did notice tap roots were very nice but only 2 had roots other than tap roots.

My take so far is no nutrients whatsoever in the Jiffy Mix and the seedlings should have at least some. Bat Guano was insufficient. I need to mix up a better mix or find something better. Hard to find anything that is not Miracle Grow or with the exact same added nutrients as Miracle Grow here.

Also styrofoam cups don't seem to be a good choice. Even with lots of holes and up on a rack so they don't sit in water, it takes a long time to dry out. (over a week).

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However, after transplanting in this mix the plants have started to grow and have put on 3 of them have put on 3 sets of leaves and 2 are adding leaves but are much smaller. Yet they are still moving very slowly compared to the photos I am seeing of everyone else's plants. Color is nice.
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Today I watered with Dr. Earth starter fertilizer tea 2-4-2 and I kept back the grounds to use as "mulch" to add to the soil when I transplant these to larger pots. PH of the Dr. Earth Tea was 6.2 but the drained runoff was 6.8.
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Lights....30 watt extra bright lcd and 2 30 watt vitalites hung a few inches over the plants. No heat coming off the vitalites except the ballasts which are not over the plant. I also have a small fan blowing on them.

The 30 watt lcd should be good for one square foot and the plants are taking up one square foot right now.

I have aluminum foil surrounding the plants however, I have a 400 hps Lumatek digital light, black and white poly and permaflect ( a material mylar fabric) on its way.

So basically its been about 3 weeks and I have maybe 3" tall plants.

I would add pics but I have torn the house apart and can not find the digital camera and my phone won't synch photos to my computer. But I'll keep looking for it! Maybe by the time I find it in a month or so my plants will be 4" tall.

 

[gettinggray1964]

man,man,man, slow down,

 

[gettinggray1964]

i dont know about that mix you got going on.... why cant you get some good potting soil or soilless mix?? i recomend fertilome ultimate potting mix.... never used FF or any online hydro store stuff. i get mine at a plant nursery around where i live.. in soil growing,IMO, what you got your plant growing in is just as important as the nutes you feed your ladies. this stuff holds its ph..... my ph is 6.8 in veg. and 6.2 in flower...

 

[gourmet]

Even nurseries here seem to carry Miracle Gro products ...I've been to store after store but will keep searching. I will keep fertilome ultimate in mind.

 

[gettinggray1964]

can you get the miracle grow mix that doesnt have time release nutes????

 

[gettinggray1964]

i think the organic miricale grow is sufficent

 

[gourmet]

I noticed a lot of folks use ProMix BX. I just checked the contents of that and it isCanadian Sphagnum Peat Moss (75-85 % / vol.)
Macronutrients
Perlite — horticultural grade
Micronutrients
Vermiculite
Wetting Agent
Dolomitic & Calcitic Limestone (pH adjuster)

So but for the macro and micro nutrients (and the sand I mixed in), the mix is the same. I added bat guano in very small quanitity as I felt the high quanitity of moss would lower the PH (even with the lime). I am a little confused on lime as being a base it should raise the ph but other readings seem to indicate dolomite lime neutralizes or buffers ph.

I think you were right the first time... I need to slow down...but I swear I am taking my meds (lol).

 

[gourmet]

Still can't find the camera but Monday I should have at least phone photo capability.

It's not quite 2 weeks since I moved the seedlings from the toxic soil and replanted them in the Jiffy soil mix. A little spurts and stops, but they seem now to be taking off nicely.

Having a little problem balancing the ph. My tap water is over 8ph and appears to have a buffer in it so if it sits after adding ph down the ph starts rising again. I am taking ph reading with very light nutes in water before watering and then the runoff. Then if the runoff is still high I readjust and add more adjusted ph water. My soil ph meter should be here shortly to help the process. Maybe time to start using bottled water.

Clearly I need more light...this is barely doing right now. I ordered the 400 hps/mh and they only sent the ballast...they forgot to include the reflector, bulb etc that came with the set. Argh!!! I wrote them today when I got the package and waiting for their reply.

Thinking of making a growing/flowering "tent" out of NIC cubes and wire ties. If I could make a 4 story rabbit hutch that way, should be able to make a grow "tent" also.

Pics soon...learning a lot by reading everyone's posts. Thanks all.

 

[dirtyolsouth]

Seedlings don't need any nutes for the first several weeks. Just give them water. Hopefully you mixed up your guano per package directions with the proper ratio of soil or that could be too strong for your seedlings if mixed too strong as well. The seed has all the nutrition a seedling needs for the first 2-3 weeks of growth. At around the start of week 3 they will benefit from some 1/3 to 1/2 strength nutes. If you're using fluorescent lighting keep it very close to your plant... as close as your plant can get without touching the lamp. Fluorescent lights are perfect for seedlings as HID lighting can fry seedlings if you're not very careful. You need to be patient. You can't really rush seedlings they just need to do their thing... And be careful not to overwater. It's very easy to love them to death.

Happy Growing!

 

[gourmet]

Thank you for the info. I call these seedlings because they were stunted due to "toxic" soil. They are 5 or 6 weeks old now but it has just been since I replanted in correct soil that they have started to grow again. I used much less bat guano than called for because of the stress the plants had already obviously gone through.

I used about 1/3 strength nutes...very light, as you suggested and let the plants dry out between waterings.

Thanks again!

 

[gourmet]

Not GOOD pics as I STILL can not find my camera..

First 5 from directly after I repotted out of the toxic soil mix.
The rest from 2 weeks later (3 days ago).

 

[gourmet]

Looked like it was getting root bound so I up sized the pot (but still waiting for my lights so not to full size bucket yet).

Pics from today.

 

[gourmet]

Hooray! Finally got my fan and filter into the growing cabinet I made, covered it all in panda film with a zipper up the front and I am now on 12/12 cycle. Good thing cause the plants are already 3 feet tall if I let them stand up (but I have them staked on their sides). As soon as the dirt dries out I will water them with 1/2 strength big bloom fertilizer added to the water.

Got a bunch of "creativity points" at work so may get a new digital camera soon too so I can show how I built the cabinet and what the plants look like.

 

[HippyInEngland]

Sounds like it is all coming together nicely Gourmet

It will be great to see some pictures when you can get some :aok:

eace:

 

[gourmet]

Here is a pic of one of the 5 plants I pulled today as it looks like a male to me. Do you agree?

 

[daddyo]

yes, male.
is that a bud i see in the background of third pic? top right quad.

 

[gourmet]

Within days of putting them in 12/12 they started to bud. Here are pics of the rest...